Ek Haseena Thi Ek Deewana Tha Review: A thinly plotted tedious film devoid of any thrills!

One Line Review: Natasha is engaged to Sunny, but before the marriage bells rings, she falls for another man Devdhar, who is believed to be a ghost.

Positive Points: Well, it's extremely hard to find too many positive points, but cinematography and music are good.

Negative Points: Uninspiring direction, hackneyed screenplay and average performances.

Plot: Natasha returns to an old, palatial bungalow abandoned by her parents years ago, to ceremonize her wedding with her fiance Sunny. Amidst all wedding preparations, Natasha happens to meet Devdhar. Over a course of few meetings, she falls for him and is ready to leave everyone to be with him. But she is left hell shocked when she comes to know that the man she is in love with is not a human, but a ghost. What will she do now? Is Devdhar really a ghost? Or there is a well-thought plan or some conspiracy behind it? To unravel the mystery, visit a cinema near you.

Performance: There are three leading actors in the film, Upen Patel, Shiv Darshan and debutante Natasha Fernandez. Senior of them all is Upen Patel who plays a happy-go-lucky guy Sunny, who is hopelessly in love with Natasha. Since he is the most experienced one in the film, he brings a balanced act to the table. His presence lights up every scene he is a part of. However, there are certain scenes, especially the emotional one, where he needed to be more emotive, but his plain expressions spoils the game. But overall it's good to see him back in Bollywood with a good, performance oriented role. Next in the list is Shiv Darshan. If you know Shiv made his acting debut in 2014 with an unsuccessful film titled Karle Pyaar Karle. Immaturity on his face and in his act was conspicuous throughout, and maybe that is why the film tanked at the box office. He is coming back with a lot of maturity and confidence in his second film. The actor plays Devdhar aka Dev in the movie. His personality and reticent nature suits his character well in the movie. Though he has put in a lot of sincere efforts in the film, he still needs to hone his skills as an actor if he wants to compete with other actors of his age and play a long inning in Bollywood. Talking about new-find Natasha Fernandez, who is the leading lady of the movie, she oozes confidence, but as far as her acting abilities are concerned, a lot of scope is there to improve. She is new and it shows on screen.

Direction: Suneel Darshan makes his comeback with the film. In past, he has produced and directed a number of successful films, including Jaanwar, Ek Rishta and Andaaz. Because of his rich portfolio as a filmmaker, expectations were riding really high on his new film, but unfortunately he fails to live up to those expectations. The look and feel of the film reminds you of 90s and early 2000s. A lot has changed since he directed his last film Shakalaka Boom Boom in 2007, but after watching his latest directorial Ek Haseena Thi Ek Deewana Tha, it feels the director has not been able to transport his imagination to the time we live in. His direction style looks stale. Barring a few scenes, there is nothing in the film which makes you applaude the filmmaker. We all know that Suneel Darshan is a talented filmmaker, but due to a paper thin story, which he himself has written, he does not succeed in exploiting his talent fully.

Technical Aspects: Whether or not it's a well-directed and well-acted film is a different story, but one has to admit it's a brilliantly cinematographed film for which cinematographer Amarjeet Singh deserves praises. Editing is done by Archit Rastogi, who seems to have used blunt scissors while editing the film.

Music: Perhaps the only highlight of the film is its music. Celebrated music composer Nadeem of Nadeem-Shravan duo has scored some melodious tunes for the film. Songs like 'Huye Bechain Pahli Baar’ and 'Hanste Hanste’ can be heard on loop. But if you thought the whole soundtrack creates the same magic which Nadeem-Shravan’s songs used to create in the 90s and early 2000s, then disappointment is in store for you. The music of the film is just above average.

Final Verdict: Ek Haseena Thi Ek Deewana is not a value for your money product. But if you want to watch a film before GST comes in place on July 1 and movie tickets become dearer, then you can go and spend your money on it.